Thread by @JulianRoepcke

#Breaking #NewsMap
Ukrainian forces liberated Yakovenkove, Kalynivka, Taranushyne and Volokhiv Yar in Kharkiv oblast and are advancing along the M03 towards Izyum plus encircling Balakliya.

#Breaking #NewsMap
Ukrainian forces entered Balakliya from the West.
(Conservative map, more Ukrainian gains are possibly, but are visually unverified so far.)

#NewsMap
Ukrainian forces liberated Bairak, south of Balalkiya, with no Russian resistance in sight.

Russians (and Ukrainian mercenaries) ran away without a fight and left their anti tank guns behind. There seem to be a Russian order to erect a new line of defense 30 km further N-E.

But at all: I wouldn't be too over-optimistic.
If UKR forces manage to liberate AND HOLD an area like marked in that map (30 km to the N-E of Balakliya) in the current push, that would be a major achievement & reason to celebrate. But it would not cut off Izyum or take Kupyansk.

And it would create a springboard for further offensives to liberate the rest of Kharkiv oblast rather sooner than later!

#Breaking #NewsMap
Ukrainian forces liberated Nova Husarivka, pushing Russian forces back over the Siverski Donets from the last held town south of it in the area.

They removed the #Soviet flag from the administrative building of the village.

#NewsMap
So far, the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kharkiv oblast liberated 200 square kilometers in only 24 hours.
#wow
Even bigger task will be to HOLD that area and hopefully even enlarge it step by step.